


You Wear Cuteness and Insanity, Equally Well

by Moon_for_moon



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry is Zoom from another’s Earth, Dark!Barry Allen, Fear, Frostbite, Hurt!Leonard Snart, Kidnapping, M/M, Meta!Len, Pain, Restraints
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 10:36:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21160277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_for_moon/pseuds/Moon_for_moon
Summary: Len didn't know when it'd all gone wrong.Maybe when they'd found out this new Barry from a different earth had actually been Zoom all along.ORThat scene from season two where Barry gives his powers to Zoom and then Zoom kidnaps Caitlin. Only with a twist.





	You Wear Cuteness and Insanity, Equally Well

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy! This story contains descriptions of pain so if you’re triggered by that, proceed with caution

Len didn't know when it'd all gone wrong. 

Maybe when they'd found out this new Barry from a different earth had actually been Zoom all along. 

Maybe when "Zoom", or Barry, had taken Cisco hostage until their earth one Barry agreed to give his powers to him. 

Maybe two minutes ago, when the earth-eleven doppelgänger had shown up with Cisco, ready to make the exchange. 

Maybe right now, as Barry ran on that magic treadmill and a syringe filled with crackling lightning. 

Len's gun was trained on the inter dimensional speedster, ready to fire at the slightest twitch. And Zoom was staring ahead, watching Barry's trail of lightning become weaker and weaker with pure fascination. 

How stupid they'd been, trusting a complete stranger wearing half of their Barry's face. "I'm the flash on my earth. And I'm here because I want to help you defeat our Zoom before he does to your city what he did to mine." 

Bla bla bla. 

And they'd believed him. Obviously. Who could imagine an earth where sweet Barry was this deranged psychopath? 

Len had taken a liking to the newcomer. Not at first of course. He had been so careful. And the moment he let his guard down, the doppelgänger revealed himself to be the very foe he'd said he'd come here to help them defeat. 

And maybe it stung a little, being betrayed by the person he was starting to have feelings for. Len had always sensed something broken in this Barry, something they had in common. And Barry had seemed to sense it too. And they'd grown close over the last few months. 

Len had never allowed it to go even as far as one kiss. He knew eighty percent of his affection for the Flash's doppelgänger was due to his feelings for their own Barry. And he wasn't about to sleep with the city's hero's twin just to fulfill a stupid fantasy of his. It would be wrong. 

Barry had shown clear frustration and made many moves, and every time, Len had had to reject him even through his own wave of envy. 

Zoom glanced aside, momentarily taking his focus off their Barry's lightning. His eyes dragged from Len's eyes, down his arm, to the gun in his hands. A mocking smirk plastered on his face. 

"Now, now. We both know you'd never hit me with your little toy." 

Iris shifted nervously, keeping her eyes on her Barry. Len didn't react or move, the cold gun stayed fixed on the insane speedster. 

A red light blinked twice on the desk. Len glanced sideways at Barry. The hero was leaning heavily on the handles of the stopped treadmill, trying to catch his breath. 

Caitlin went to pick up the vial but Zoom was quicker. A flick of blue lightning and the speedster was injecting the swirling energy into his arm. 

Dark lightning rods swam over his black suit, faster and faster until they pulled a thrilled screamed out of the psychopath. It was like watching a horror movie unfold right there in the cortex. 

Another flash and Savitar was suddenly on the other side of the glass, grabbing Barry by the throat and pinning him to the wall. Zoom's eyes were black and streaks of blue light were flowing behind them. 

Barry didn't struggle. His hands only came up to clasp around his doppelgänger's wrist to try and breathe more easily. 

"Thank you, Flash." A mad grin was plastered on the remaining speedster's face. 

Iris was the first to react, she yanked the door connecting the two rooms open and ran towards the two. Len followed behind her, Cisco close as well. 

"No.." Barry's voice was strained behind the bruising grip but his eyes were clear as they starred at his friends. Iris stopped in her race, clearly torn between the need to listen to Barry and attack the other monster. 

Len's gun was raised, shooting would be useless but it was all he could do. "Let him go." 

It was an order, not a plea, but the speedster didn't even cast a second look at him and only smiled wider. He spoke again, still addressing Barry. 

"I wonder which would hurt you more.. me breaking your back again," He turned his stare to the others in the room. "or killing all your friends while you watch like the useless hero you think you are." 

Barry made a choked noise when Savitar's hand squeezed tighter around his neck and cut off his breathing entirely. 

Len fired. He didn't see the blue flash of lightning coming at him but he was suddenly shoved against the wall, his back hitting the metal with a loud echo in the room. 

Zoom's face was inches from his own, way too close for Len's comfort. For the first time, he actually hopped the cowl had been on. As terrifying as it was, staring into those empty and yet insane eyes was worse. Len could feel the energy pooling out of the other man. It was overwhelmingly nauseating, too sick and powerful for him to handle. 

"Don't hurt him." 

His voice was a quiet whisper. The others probably didn't hear him. The doppelgänger stared at him and Len could practically see the tornado of thoughts fuzzing behind the man's crazy eyes. 

"Please." 

And then he couldn't breathe. Literally. He tried to inhale but he couldn't, like his lungs were being crushed. His senses were overwhelmed by the speed at which he was suddenly traveling. Everything around him was just dots of lights, then a blue tunnel, then too much for his brain to process. 

He opened his mouth to scream but only a strangled gasp escaped. The sound of wind hitting his ears was deafening, drowning his thoughts out, and pulling him down, down, down. 

He tried to hold onto consciousness but his mind quickly slipped away. The darkness came progressively, little by little, like cold arms welcoming him in the underworld. He fought with everything he had, but blacked out before they reached their destination. 

XXXXXXXXXX

He awoke with a startle, shooting up in the miserable plank of a bed in which he was laid out, and looked around frantically. The area around him was huge. It wasn't a room.. more like a giant wooden cave with parts of walls but no doors. One big evil lair. 

His eyes fell on the heavy shackles clasped around his wrists, both of them connected to a single chain that disappeared under one side of the 'bed'. He gave an experimental tug and hissed as the tight metal dug into his wrists. 

His hands felt numb and bloated, blood struggling to flow properly between his muscles and the crushing metal. A pang of dread flowed down his back at the thought of losing them. He needed his hands. To steal, to read, to cook, to drive, to do literally anything! 

The place was dead silent. Len wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. Maybe 'Barry' had other prisoners here. If they worked together they could all escape. 

He sat up on the bed as much as possible, resting his back against the headboard, and pulled his arms to his chest, groaning quietly when the pressure around his wrists worsened. 

He needed to think.

"Don't look so miserable." 

Len flinched as the speedster suddenly appeared out of thin air and stood next to the bed. He put on his usual snarky attitude but the way he tensed and closed in on himself did not escape the other man's attention. 

"Why am I here?" Len was proud of how annoyed his voice sounded, not an ounce of fear in it. 

"You're here," Barry approached the bed and sat down beside him. "because I care about you. Now, I know why you didn't want to do anything with me back on earth one, but things are different now." 

Len stared at the speedster, forcing ice and anger into his eyes. Barry only smiled comfortingly and leaned in, as if he were about to tell Len a secret. Len pressed further back into the hard material behind him. 

"I know you care about me too. You're just too stubborn to admit it." Barry's expression looked so tender and sweet, like he hadn't almost just killed his own doppelgänger. Len felt a cold shiver run up his spine. 

"I know you're angry at me. I understand why.." The speedster's hand came up, as if to cradle the side of his face but Len flinched violently. The chains stopped him from getting as far as he would've liked, but Barry's smile wavered but he didn't pursue him further, dropping his hand down instead. "But I'm willing to give you time to come around." Still, the sweet, compassionate smile. 

Len felt rage boiling up inside of him. "And what if I don't feel like coming around?" He drawled casually, leaving only a hint of anger for Barry to pick up on. 

The smile vanished completely and Barry's features hardened again. Len yelped when the speedster's hand suddenly closed around his jaw and forced his head back. He tried to raise his arms to rip the hand off him but the chain bit back into his wrists and only his fingertips were able to brush against the dark leather of Barry's suit. 

"Let's not think about that right now. Okay?" How could he sound so much like their Barry but be so different? His tone was dangerously calm but left a clear threat lingering in the air. 

Len breathed hard, fighting back his panic and fight or flight instincts. He couldn't do either at the moment. Barry's grip was tight, not painful but one simple motion and he could either break Len's neck, or suffocate him. Danger being so close by was nerve wrecking. 

Barry didn't move his hand away, it simply rested there, against his skin like it belonged or had every right to touch him. Like he belonged to it. Len focused on his rage to stop the fear from taking over. How dare this man touch him? 

"Get comfortable. You're gonna be here a while." 

Len blinked and the speedster was gone, only the ghost feeling of soft lips on his cheek to prove he'd even visited in the first place. Len's eyes fell on the shackles, which were now resting on the mattress, leaving him free. 

He took a shaky breath and pulled his wrists to his chest, holding one in the other hand and soothing the red marks almost apologetically. 

He stayed still for what felt like hours. He didn't look around or move off the bed. Maybe his motion freedom was just a test, a way to determine if he could be trusted. 

It was stupid. But if he set a foot on the ground then that would be admitting he was trapped. At the moment, he was choosing where he was. And that was on the bed. 

Maybe if he closed his eyes for long enough he would wake up back on his earth, safe and sound, away from the speedster's insanity. 

He did eventually get up, slow and steady, one movement at a time. He held his breath when his foot set on the floor, half expecting Barry to suddenly zoom in and slam him into the wall. 

But nothing happened. Barry didn't appear. No lightning danced around him. It was just him. 

Alone. 

He took another step, fighting back the ridiculous urge to run as fast as he could. His footsteps echoed hollowly throughout the place. Another cold shiver licked up his back. 

"Anyone here?" He called out randomly. Silence answered his question, making the air feel even emptier. 

Knock. Knock knock. 

Len wasn't sure he'd actually heard something at first, but when the noise repeated itself there was no more room for doubt. 

He walked carefully, preparing himself for whatever he was going to see. A monster, a mutilated body, a kid perhaps? 

The person he discovered when he wandered a little further just might've been all three at once. It was a man, laying on the other side of a glass wall. Len couldn't see his face behind the heavy metal mask covering his head. 

He felt a wave of dread at the thought of being forced to wear such a thing. He couldn't imagine the panic that would take over, clawing at the metal, desperately trying to rip it off to breathe properly, being unable to open his mouth and just inhale, chest getting tighter and tighter and tighter. 

"Well what do we have here.."

Len nearly collapsed when his own voice answered back to him, like a whip slicing through the air and striking him in the chest. He whirled around, turning to face a different glass cell he hadn't noticed previously. 

Only to see himself in it. 

It was him.. but it wasn't. His hair was white as snow and his eyes were a pale blue. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, white towards the top, blue at the bottom, separated by a zigzagging pattern. 

"Looks like someone's a little far from home? What? Did you get lost on the way to the market?" 

Len stared at his reflection until the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. He advanced slowly, taking in the strange details that differentiated him from his doppelgänger. 

"Has little ol' Zoomy started collecting Leonard Snarts instead of earths? Seems a little extra, but then again, speedsters are all crazy." The voice had an echo to it, resonating behind it as if it were hitting an ice wall, accompanied by whispered and emptiness. 

Len had to look away. It was too strange. Seeing two Barrys was one thing, seeing himself, so different yet so similar, was quite another. 

"Aw, now. Don't be shy. Tell uncle Lenny everything." A mocking smirk accompanied the words. "How'd he find you?" 

Len looked around, as if checking once more that the speedster wouldn't be eavesdropping and shrugged nonchalantly. "Does it matter? I'll be out of here soon enough anyway." 

His doppelgänger beamed proudly. "Look at you. Cool as a cucumber, just chilling, keeping it calm and controlled." He leaned forward, resting his shoulder against the glass wall and crossing his arms over his chest. "Sorry to break it to you, Snowball, but you're not going anywhere. This place is miles away from any kind of civilisation. You leave on foot, you die in the forest if he doesn't find you first." 

Len shook his head. That couldn't be true, there must be some way to escape. "Then what's your suggestion?" 

"Don't have one. You sit still, be pretty and hope that's all he wants from you." 

"A nice view?" 

"Company." The doppelgänger corrected with a little rise of his chin. "Psycho's lonely as hell. Hard to believe that, with his beautiful personality, no one wants to be around him." 

Len cocked an eyebrow. Talking with himself was like participating in a competition to see who could pretend to be the most casual about the whole situation. 

"How long have you been here?"

The doppelgänger shrugged, as if he'd even forgotten a time when he wasn't a prisoner. "About three weeks and two days. Time just flies by when all you have to keep you company is a metal headed freak show." 

They both turned to stare at the third party. "Do you understand what he's trying to say?" Len asked. 

The other him shook his head. "Not the talky type." A little smile appeared on his face at the dark and cruel joke. 

Len rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms a little tighter around his torso. "So, you're my doppelgänger."

The other man nodded. "Yep, same name, same face, different everything else." He turned an intrigues and curious look towards Len and let his eyes drag over his form. "You're not a meta on your earth." 

Len tilted his head. "You are?" 

The doppelgänger huffed. "Why else do you think I'm in here?" He gestured around to indicated the cell. "Zoomy ain't a fan of cold." 

"What happened to you?" 

"A lot. Be more specific." 

"How did you get your powers?" Len precised. "Did the cold gun have something to do with it?" 

The doppelgänger frowned. "Cold gun? Never heard of it. No, I got mine the night of the particule accelerator explosion. Woke up freezing and with a nice new haircut." 

Len smiled at the sarcasm. It felt good, not being completely alone. "It suits you." 

"Yeah," came the slow and nasal drawl. "so I've heard." 

A few seconds of silence drew out before Len carried the conversation into another direction. "So how do these cells work?" 

The meta shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Do you see an instructions manuel in here?" 

Len gave the man a glare. 

They held each other's stare until the doppelgänger broke. With an exasperated sigh, he indicated something behind Len. "Whatever's powering them is in there." 

Len walked over to the box-like power control and brushed his hands over it. It was some kind of machin fueled by energy. If he disrupted the current he could probably annul the power dampening technology. 

The bored drawl rose once again from behind him. "What are you doing?" 

"Getting you out of here." The 'obviously' he kept to himself. He traced the wires a few times to be certain of where they started and ended, what powered what, where what went. 

"How did he find you?" Len asked, still working over the engin. He glanced behind himself when his doppelgänger didn't answer and frowned in response to the perplex look the man was giving him. 

"You really have no idea how these parallel earths work, do you?" 

Len shook his head. "I'm just tying to get home." 

"All versions of us are connected. If you have one, you can find the others. Works through some kind of vibration or some crap." 

Len felt a wave of guilt at that. Three weeks. That was when he'd started noticing Barry's admiration and feelings towards him. It was hard to believe that while the speedster was acting kind and flirting around with him, he'd been keeping an exact replica for his entertainment. 

Len clicked the final switch into place and waited a few seconds. He turned back to face the meta who hadn't changed positions, still leaning against the wall and lightly taping his knuckles on the transparent screen. 

"Did it wo-" The glass shattered into a thousand shards before he could finish his sentence. 

Len shivered as a wave of cold swept though the room. The temperature around him sank enough to send goosebumps over his arms but he resisted the urge to shove his hands in his pockets. 

His doppelgänger stepped forward, easily walking over the remains of glass and making them crack under his boots. Len didn't try to hide his smirk. His carrier as a criminal was just as valuable as ice powers and it felt damn good to show off his skills to a man with such power emanating from him. 

His double breathed in deeply and blew a small cloud out, cooling the humidity in the air back down to fog. A pleased hum sounded as the meta stretched his arms out and a pale shade of blue started coloring the skin of his hands, running up to his forearms as his powers returned. 

The doppelgänger took a minute to enjoy his newfound freedom, eyes closed and seemingly in a deep meditation. Len observed silently, tracking every detail in the meta's movements. 

An uneasy feeling started growing in his stomach when he glanced behind himself to check on where the banging was coming from. 

The man in the metal helmet was hitting the glass furiously. Len guessed that if he could talk he would probably be shouting something. 

What, he didn't know. Probably to let him out as well. 

But something felt increasingly wrong. A cold breeze brushed through the room, the temperature getting to the point where the discomfort wasn't deniable anymore. 

He pushed it off. Barry might return any minute. That must be why his alarms were blaring. 

"What are we gonna do about him?" He asked, ignoring the fact that he could see his own breath. "And do you mind turning the heat up a little? Cold's not an issue, but this is a little much." 

He threw an uneasy glance over his shoulder and tensed. The meta's eyes were shining a bright white and his lips were curled in a mocking smirk. 

"Is everyone on your earth this stupid?" 

That was the only warning Len got before a blast shot through the room, straight at him. He dropped, feeling the attack pass just a few inches from his head. 

His heart was pounding in his chest and his fingers felt too numb to move. He forced his muscles to fight through the cold and started running. The room was huge and the closest wall he could hide behind was almost too far to reach. 

His legs screamed in protest as blood was carried through them despite his vascular system struggling to let oxygen pass through the muscles. 

He didn't dare look behind himself and only focused on reaching a safe place. He was nearly at the wall when a searing pain tore through his thigh. He let out a strangled scream as his legs suddenly gave out and he collapsed only a few yards from his objective. 

Warm blood flooded around the icicle lodged in his leg and he let out a curse through gritted teeth. The cold made it so much worse, like the ice was trying to suck the tissue in like a sponge. 

He barely had time to look up before a large hand closed around his throat and lifted him off the floor. He thought getting pierced by ice hurt, but this.. this was so much worse. 

He let out an strangled scream as the freezing hand burned into his skin. This was by far the worse frostbite he'd ever suffered. The way it itched and stung and numbed everything at the same time was nothing short of unbearable. 

Tears of pain escaped his eyes while he stared at the meta with wide eyes, breath caught in his throat, unable to process such a terrible sensation. His leg was long forgotten, all he could focus on were those white eyes staring back at him like nothing was wrong while his doppelgänger's hand squeezed tighter and tighter. 

"Only one of us is making it out alive." 

Len couldn't think. His mind was only numb terror and searing agony. He didn't know when he'd stopped breathing, or if his vision graying was from the pain. He saw the next blast forming in the meta's free palm. 

It was beautiful. 

He kept his eyes on it, more tears sipping down his cheeks but turning into ice before they could get too far. Such a powerful orb of energy wasn't the worst thing to see before dying.. He let his body go numb, leaving his mind to a gentle buzz, and stopped fighting. 

There was a sound of electricity, then a sharp gasp. He didn't listen or care as the pressure around his neck suddenly released all at once and he slid down the wall. He was tired, why was he so tired? His eyes were closing but he couldn't go now. No! Something was happening and he needed to know what. 

"Well.. I guess you're right about that." 

He heard the voice. It was enough of an anchor for him to pull all of his remaining energy into opening his eyes for a split second. 

His doppelgänger was laying on his side, one arm stretched out above him, staring right at him. Len's gaze was drawn to the white eyes, those gorgeous and intimidating white eyes, but they were dimming.. why were they dimming? They used to be so beautiful. And now they were losing their light, going darker and darker until they were the same color as his. 

Then his gaze traveled to the red stain blooming over the meta's stomach. And that was all he could get before everything went black, along with a flash of Barry's furious expression and threatening tone. 

"Try that again, see wh-"

XXXXXXXXXX

He woke up with a gasp. Soft bandages were wrapped around his throat and leg, pulled snuggly but not too tight. He winced as a wave of pain struck his body. 

He tried to bring his hand up to his neck but it didn't move from his side. His eyes flew open and darted around the room, his breathing picking up and sending a burning sensation to his head every time he inhaled. 

He kicked his legs out but his ankles were as good as turned to stone, a medical cuff pulled around both his ankles and his wrists, trapping him to the bed. All he got for his troubles was a painful reminder of the wound. He needed to get out of here, everyone was fucking insane. 

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, desperate for any sort of freedom. It was too tight, hurt too much, his thoughts were too loud. 

A warm hand combed through his hair while a little shushing sound was heard. Len's head jerked to the side to stare at Barry sitting beside him. A cry of pain and fear ripped from his lips at the brusque movement of his neck. 

Barry's hand followed him when he flinched away, catching in his hair and pulling him close again. His face looked relaxed and soothing but his mouvements were filled with tension and anger. 

Len pulled at the restrains around his limbs, just as tight as when he'd first work up. Barry forced his head back against the pillow, using his hair as leverage. 

"What did we learn from this little experience?" 

Len shut his eyes again, a newfound humiliation burning in his chest. The fingers were brushing his hair, tracing over the skin like a ballerina presenting a show. 

"I know you're scared, darling." The back of Barry's hand moved down the side of his face, lightly caressing his cheek with his knuckles. "Of pain, of dying, of what almost happened." He paused for a few seconds, a sad smile on his face. "Of me.." 

Len felt like his lungs were trapped, unable to fully expand to let him take a deep breath. He could barely hold back his groans of pain and aftershock. 

"But you'll get use to it. You don't have to fear me. I'd never hurt you." 

Len looked down, the crushing weight of seeing his own body bleeding out far too fresh behind his eyes. 

"I want to go home." His voice was raw and dry and practically scraped its way out of his throat, but it was articulate enough for the message to be understandable. 

"No." Barry winced, as if hearing Len say those words physically pained him. "Stay." 

Len looked up, staring at the ceiling and struggling to stay calm, his restraints felt like they were fueling anxiety and fear directly into his bloodstream. "I want to leave." 

He hated how vulnerable he sounded, how broken his voice was. He hadn't even been here a whole day, and yet he was already falling into a spiral of insanity. He willed himself to look at Barry, his heart beating in his throat like a wave of nausea. "Please.. take me home." 

"Len.." 

The prisoner shut his eyes tightly and jerked his head away when Barry tried to reach out again. The speedster let his hand fall, defeated. 

Len ignored his current pain, all of his instincts focusing on the one that might come. Barry was so unstable, one minute happy, the next terrifying. Who knew if the speedster was about to hug him or vibrate his hand through his chest?

"I had two of you.." The whisper was quiet and sad. "Now I barely even have one." His misery turned darker, his expression hardening until he looked up at Len again with nothing but cold anger. 

"You want to go home? Let's go home. And once we're there," a dark smile spread across his face, "you'll watch your precious city crumble to its knees. "

Len couldn't respond, frozen in fear, breath trapped in his lungs. "And maybe, when everything and everyone you care about is gone, you'll finally realize I'm everything you need." 

He didn't have time to protest or beg, the world was already disappearing, leaving only a blur and blue lightening dancing around for him to clutch onto until he would pass out and, hopefully, wake up when this was all over.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you have time!


End file.
